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Leadership

The Chair – Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government

“No citizen of the global village is free from the damage caused by climate change. For the harmony between human settlements and nature, for the symbiosis of all groups of citizens, and for the happiness of both current and future generations, cities should think and act together.”

Mayor Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government was elected as the Chair of World Mayors Council on Climate Change at the General Assembly held in Belo Horizonte on 17 June 2012.

Official inauguration of Mayor Park as the Chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change took place in Seoul on 19 October 2012 during ICLEI East Asia Days.

In his first global action as the new Chair, Mayor Park lead the adoption of 2012 Seoul Declaration of Local Governments on Energy and Climate Mitigation, aiming to ensure significant energy and emissions saving. As a demonstration of his leadership, Mayor Park announced commitment of Seoul Metropolitan Government to reduce the use of fossil and nuclear energy consumption of municipal operations by at least 30% by 2020 compared to 2010 level.

2012 Seoul Declaration is recognized as an instrument to encourage world´s cities to be inspired by and replicate the vision laid out in Mayor Park´s ambitious plan "One Less Nuclear Power Plant" that aims to reduce energy consumption of Seoul by 2 million toe, leading to saving of 7.3 million tCO2e, creating 40,000 new jobs, and resulting in economical saving of $1.2 billion by 2014, through strong citizen engagement.

The Vice-Chair – Jürgen Nimptsch, Mayor of Bonn

“We must continue to be active and creative to ensure a low-carbon development and increased resilienceto climate change in our cities. This is a tantamount to a secure future for humanity.”

In 2009, the Mayor of Bonn, the German UN city, took over the Vice-Chairmanship of the World Mayors Council. His individual commitment reflects the continuous efforts the city of Bonn is making to improve sustainability locally and globally.

Bonn is thus hosting carbonn – the Bonn center for local climate action and reporting, providing a platform for local governments to report their climate targets and action in a consistent way. The City of Bonn is also particularly active in the field of biodiversity; Jürgen Nimptsch was one of the local leaders successfully advocating for the recognition of local governments' role during the City Biodiversity Summit held in parallel to the international negotiations on biodiversity in Nagoya in October 2010.

Honorary Chair - Yorikane Masumoto, Former Mayor of Kyoto

"Climate change continues to be one of the greatest threats to humankind. The signs of climate change are obvious and weather-related disasters have increased dramatically over the last years. Yet it has taken national governments 13 years to get from signing the UNFCCC in Rio de Janeiro in the year 1992. Moreover, it passed from the adoption for seven years, and the Kyoto Protocol finally has entered into force on February 16 of 2005.

In a letter that I sent on that day to my colleagues from all ICLEI member municipalities, I reaffirmed Kyoto's commitment to participate in global warming countermeasures through the mutual cooperation of all the heads of municipalities around the world.

In this sense I have therefore, in consultation with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, decided to initiate a World Mayors Council on Climate Change."